Don't Call Me That
by Hailstorm258
Summary: "My name is Hermione. Her-mi-o-ne. You know I hate that atrocious nickname that you all insist on branding me with."
1. Something's Wrong

**Don't Call Me That.**

The normally lively Great Hall was tainted with a moody presence among the less-than-thrilled student body. The first day of classes was upon them again but one Head Girl was not in the mood for the start of her seventh year. Already she had faced an argument with the Head Boy, the misplacement of her favorite jeans, an apologetic but no less heart-breaking letter from her parents, and little sleep from the night before.

"'Mione, what has gotten into you? You're absolutely brooding in your eggs." Ron Weasley asked his best friend.

"Do not call me that Ronald. My name is Hermione. Her-mi-o-ne. You know I hate that atrocious nickname that you all insist on branding me with."

Ron looked at her with sad eyes that did not make up for his next statement, "But 'Hermione' is just too hard to say! It's so long!"

The brunette's eyes flashed in the most dangerous way. "Well, _Ron, _if my name is just too cumbersome for you, I suggest you spend the day not talking to me at all!

With that, Hermione grabbed her books and angrily stomped out of the Great Hall on her way to the Library. Harry simply shrugged and told Ron to let it go. Hermione would forgive him eventually. He just hopped it was before they got assigned any homework they needed help on…

Neither of the boys noticed when a certain blond Slytherin exited the Great Hall in pursuit of the Head Girl. He had noticed the Weasel and Brainy having some sort of row and watched as the haughty Gryffindor left the room. Immediately making his way to the Library, Draco smirked to himself. He knew that Hermione would be less than thrilled to see him following her after their own row last night in the Head's Dorm.

_Draco stumbled into the common room with his eyes half shut ready to collapse on the couch for the rest of the night. He found that it was already occupied however by a female form. Hermione had her arms crossed and an accusatory glare in her eyes. Not wanting to face her lectures, Draco quickly changed tactics and headed for his room. _

"_Draco Malfoy! You come back here! You missed the prefects meeting tonight AND did not show up to help me with planning the rounds for next week. I got them all done, mind you, but you skipped out to what seems like plaster yourself!"_

_The Head Boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The plan was to appear as sober as possible as to not give the girl in front of him any reason to prove her theory correct. He slowly turned around and stood up as straight as he could in which he was then towering over the 5' 6 girl. _

"_What I do in my free time is none of your business Gra-"_

"_But that's just it!" Hermione said quickly cutting him off. "It wasn't your free time! You had things planned and responsibilities to attend to! I had to tell McGonagall that you were sick in order for you to keep your position…!"_

"_Y-you covered for me? You didn't rat me out?" Draco asked incredulously. He didn't much care if the Headmistress knew he was skipping duties but it was the fact that Granger knew perfectly well he wasn't sick but told the woman that he was anyway. _

"_Well…yes, I did." She stated rather defensively. "But it wasn't for you. If you lost your job, who knows who the professors would give it to next. I would have to spend more time getting to know them and acting all friendly. At least with you, I can be openly hostile._

_With that, Hermione climbed the stairs to her room and slammed the door shut for good measure. After a second thought, she opened the door again to state matter-of-factly, "If you ever come late or skip a meeting again, I will not hesitate to throw you under the bus. Goodnight Malfoy."_

Her fiery attitude and easily riled nature amused Draco to no end. He could imagine the stupidity coming from the Weasel's mouth that made her run away like that. 

Upon the entrance to the Library, Draco peered in carefully to see if he could find the girl he was looking for. His eyes found a brunette speaking animatedly with a third year. Draco plastered his infamous smirk on his lips and sauntered straight over to the two girls. As he got close, the blond caught his eye and widened her own. She immediately looked to Hermione who was still talking about what Draco could now make out as her Transfiguration knowledge.

"-so with that being said, I would love to help you, Candice, if you have any trouble in McGonagall's class. She is a hard grader but I believe she's fair and-"

"Uhh…Hermione..." Candice interrupted. Hermione finally looked up, irritated she had been cut off, only to find herself staring into the grey eyes of Malfoy. Immediately the Head girl's defenses kicked in.

"What do you want Malfoy?"

Draco smiled mockingly down at the obviously irritated Head. "Why, Granger, I simply wanted to make it up to you for not being able to attend our meeting yesterday." Turning his attention to Candice, Draco bent down so he was invading her personal space, "Now, if you could please excuse us. Important Head business, you know." He added a wink at the end for good measure. Candice blushed a deep crimson and nodded vigorously. She then turned on her heel and shuffled out of the Library.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned an exasperated expression to Malfoy. "Must you treat every girl like that just to get what you want? She's a very nice little third year who doesn't need to become tainted by your charms."

"You think I have charms Granger? Do you find yourself succumbing to them?" Draco moved his face closer to hers so she could feel his breath skim lightly across her cheek.

"In your dreams, Malfoy." Hermione responded confidently. "Besides, you're not at all my type."

"I am the pure essence of perfection. I am everyone's type."

"There are plenty of things wrong with you, you prat. You're just too full of yourself to notice them." With that Hermione picked up her book and moved past Malfoy in order to get to class on time. She could not pass his unmoving form however without brushing lightly against him. Shuddering off her disgust, she quickly moved off to Charms before he could say anything else.

Despite not caring what Granger thought of him, Draco could not help but wonder if there was any truth to her words. "There is nothing wrong with me…and even if there is...which there is not…I'll get Granger to tell me exactly what she thinks and then prove her wrong."


	2. Miss Pink

**Wow! Thanks for the reviews! I wasn't expecting any, really. They encouraged me to write sooner though I hope you all enjoy.**

Hermione's day went from bad to worse. Seamus lit her hair on fire in Charms, Ron kept badgering her to talk to him even after he spilt their potion and had Snape take 50 points off, and she had a pile of homework waiting for her back in her room. Trudging up the marble steps, Hermione sighed loudly.

"Hermione?" Came a tentative whisper from behind.

Slowly turning around she came face to face with her best friend. Harry stood hunched over looking like he was ready for battle.

"What do you want Harry?" Hermione asked tiredly.

"Hermione, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way Ron has been acting…and me as well. I just want you two to be friends! All the bickering has got to stop. I know he isn't the best with his, umm, feelings, but I know he really likes you. If you would just talk to him…" Harry trailed off at the end of his confession when he saw the look forming in Hermione's eyes.

"Harry James Potter. When have you ever known me to speak to that boy before he has rightfully apologized? I am sorry you have to play peacemaker in all of this but let's face it, you will choose to comfort Ron in his time of stupidity. That's the way it always is. So I guess I will talk to you once Ron decides to be mature." Hermione walked away without a glace back until she was met with a portrait of a very old looking owl.

"Hello Brenus, I hope you've had a better day then I've had. Password is Slythindor." Brenus the owl blinked slowly back at the girl before he opened the portrait. Hermione rolled her eyes at the childish password Malfoy decided to land on after fighting for an hour. Both got their way however so compromise was reached.

Walking into the common room, Hermione sighed yet again but this time with relief. There was no one in sight. She would have the large fireplace to herself while working on her essay for Snape. She slowed her steps toward her room however and looked around her for the first time.

When arriving to the newly constructed Head Dorms, Hermione went straight to her room and slammed the door. Malfoy was able to annoy her all the way from the Great Hall feast to their rooms and she had had enough. Staying locked in her room, she didn't have the opportunity to look around like Malfoy did.

As she inspected the layout presently, she saw the red and green colors had been mixed well together, without a tacky Christmas feel. Hermione's room, she knew, had only red and gold and she would bet Malfoy's room had only green and silver.

Hermione's face broke out into her first smile of the day as she got a wonderful idea in her head. Slowly creeping over to Malfoy's room, she opened the door slowly and looked to see if he was in there.

"Malfoy?" Hermione said loudly.

When there was no response, she bounded in the room to look at what she had to work with. The whole room was extremely clean with nothing out of place. There was a small picture frame at the side table of his bed containing a picture of Malfoy with his parents. Next to that lay a dormant golden snitch.

Hermione picked up her wand and casted a simple spell she learned from the book _Housewarming Spells for the Stay at Home Witch. _While Hermione did not plan to be a stay at home witch, she did find the spells interesting and obviously valuable in a time like this.

Hermione headed back to her room and retrieved her books. Still with a smile on her face, Hermione was able to complete her potions essay and practice her Charms before feeling exhausted from the day. Malfoy was still not back yet which made Hermione frown. She really did want to see the look on his face when he walked into his room.

She gave up when she saw that the clock read half past one and decided just to go to bed. As she was gathering her books, the portrait opened and none other than the Head Boy stepped through.

"Aww, Granger, you didn't have to wait up for me."

Hermione held back a retort but instead started picking up her books much more slowly. "Malfoy, I don't want to fight. I'm just going to bed and I suggest you do the same."

Not realizing he was taking her bait, Malfoy smirked and headed to his room. Upon arriving through the threshold, his mouth dropped open. His bed was covered in a pink blanket with a unicorn prancing around on the fabric. Fuzzy animals of every kind littered the top. His walls had been transformed from the deep green he had remembered, to a light rosy color. Flowers that swayed in the breeze had been painted on the bottom. The picture of his parents had been changed to a picture of his best friend, Blaise and the golden snitch he stole, was now a small fairy doll.

"GRANGER!"

Hermione smiled and quickly grabbed the rest of her books. She began walking quickly towards her room and chanced a glace backwards. Malfoy was hot on her heels. Hermione let out a squeak and tried to get to her room in time. Luck wasn't on her side tonight however, for Malfoy wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her away from her door. She dug in her heels and shrieked while trying to grab anything within reach.

Malfoy wasn't having any of it. He threw her down on the couch and trapped her with both his hands on either side of her head. Leaning very close, the Head Boy whispered in a deadly voice, "Change. It. Back."

Although Hermione was in a compromising position, she kept her head up. "I'm sorry I don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy."

"You and I both know, Granger, you're the only one who could have done this. Change my room back to its menacing state or I will permanently turn your skin the same color."

Hermione thought through her options. There were few, she had to admit. She could refuse to change it back and get hexed, or she could change it back but that would mean Malfoy got his way. Or she could…

"So Malfoy. What did you think of Potions today? I finished my essay and didn't think it was that hard."

"I swear Granger…I'm going to let you go and I want my room to be back to normal in three seconds."

Malfoy slowly leaned back and watched as Hermione blinked a few times to clear her head.

"One…"

Hermione looked quickly to her right to see the pink abyss that was Malfoy's room. She then looked towards her room and bit her lip.

"Two…"

She slowly got up and walked to the two rooms. Making sure to make no sudden movements, Hermione made a split second decision.

"Three!"

Bolting into her room, Hermione slammed the door and immediately put a locking charm on it. She could hear Malfoy cursing and pounding on the door. After a few more seconds, Hermione could hear nothing on the other side. She slowly walked to her door and leaned her ear on the wood. Little did she know, an exasperated Draco was leaning his own forehead against the door.

"Why pink, Granger?" He barely whispered. If Hermione hadn't been leaning against the door herself, she wouldn't have heard him.

"I thought it was quite fitting considering you look and act like a girl."

Malfoy's eyes widened and he jerked back away from the girl on the other side. "What do you mean?"

"Goodnight Malfoy."

**Reviews are always nice of course Hope everyone had a nice Monday!**


	3. The Head's Head

**It's Hump Day! **

The Head Girl fell asleep immediately after the commotion from the previous night. She felt as though she had taken a Pepper Up potion the next morning; completely revamped and ready to tackle the world. She threw her legs across her bed and onto the plush carpet below. Jumping up, with an over enthusiastic smile on her face, Hermione peeked into the bathroom making sure Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. After last night, she didn't want to be caught unarmed in front of that boy.

Slipping inside, Hermione stayed on her tip toes in order to limit the extent of cold tile on her feet. Finally arriving at the sink, she cupped her hands together under the faucet and gathered the liquid together. She splashed it across her face and shook the sleep from her eyes.

Looking in the mirror, Hermione found the small scar above her right eyebrow when one morning , Crookshanks decided to wake her up rather violently when it was time to eat. She moved down her face to her chin, where one side was slightly more round than the other. Opening her mouth, and peering in, Hermione found the third tooth to the left, bottom row, which happened to be smaller than the matching tooth on the opposite side.

She knew there were things about her that weren't perfect. In fact, she knew just about every one of them. If she didn't keep track of them, someone else would find something wrong before her, and then it would come as a surprise. And no one likes those kinds of surprises.

Hermione turned away from the mirror and stepped out of her pajamas. She reached around the shower screen to turn the nob. As steam filled the room, Hermione allowed the heat to clear her head. Finally ready for a new day she stepped into the shower and lathered up in soap. She rinsed off the suds and moved onto her hair. A handful of shampoo and conditioner later, Hermione stepped out of the shower and dried off. Before exiting the bathroom, she tied up her hair and wrapped it in her towel.

Hermione felt completely rejuvenated. She picked out a crisp white shirt and pleated skirt and finished the ensemble with her Gryffindor tie. Due to the warm weather, she left off her clogs and instead opted for some cooler sandals. One last look in the mirror and a nod of satisfaction, Hermione flung open her door and found the common room empty. She checked her watch to see that it was only 20 minutes until classes. She still had time for breakfast.

Walking out, Hermione stole a glance towards Malfoy's room. It seemed deathly quiet. She looked back toward the portrait and sighed. Turning around, she headed into his room. Damn her guilt for last night.

Her head slowly wrapped around the door to see into the dark room. Pushing the door farther open, the light from the common room shined onto the bed. And there, with the fabric unicorn cuddled up close, was Malfoy, sleeping peacefully.

"Malfoy?" Hermione whispered. "Malfoy you only have 20 minutes until classes."

"Mmmerph…" came the slightly muffled response.

"Look Malfoy, I'm sorry for last night. It was just a joke. I'm trying to make it up to you…"

"By waking me up far too early in the morning?"

"Well…you don't want to be late for class…"

"Yes. I do. Now, LEAVE."

Hermione rolled her eyes and headed out the door. She didn't have time for breakfast anymore and didn't want to be late for double potions. She quickly scuttled to the dungeons and slipped inside the classroom. She chose a lone desk in the back of the class, refusing to patch things up with Ron just yet.

Snape appeared and started his lecture. Everything began normally, with Hermione paying diligent attention, Harry and Ron passing notes, Neville making himself as small as possible in order to avoid being called on, and Slytherins not playing any attention at all.

Just as Hermione was dipping her quill, she felt a presence next to her. Looking out of the corner of her eye she saw Malfoy smirking while pulling out the chair that was next to her. It wasn't the smirk that drew her attention however, it was his hair. Instead of falling in his eyes, the golden locks were cut short, and flipped up in the front. It was the perfect length that every girl dreamed of running her fingers through; long enough to hold onto during some perfectly enthusiastic snogging, but short enough to be able to go back into place without much effort. And Malfoy had it perfect.

Hermione wasn't the only one that noticed though. Pansy and her gang of giggly girls turned their bodies around in their seats and began whispering and smiling at Malfoy. He threw a lazy smile back in their direction before he turned his attention back to Hermione. Keeping her cool, she focused on the board while directing her words to the boy next to her.

"What happened to your head? Did you get it stuck in a blender?"

"Oh come on Granger, you know it looks good," Malfoy said cockily. Then he added, "Besides, what's a blender?"

"Nevermind. And why would I care what your hair looks like?"

"Well, Miss. Priss, you were the one that told me it was too long."

"And you listened to me? Anyway, I believe my exact words were 'you look like a girl' but I'm glad you can take a hint."

"Granger. Malfoy."

Snape's shadowed features stared down at his two best students.

"I'm sorry sir-"  
>"20 points from Gryffindor."<p>

"Sir, it was my fault," Hermione's mouth dropped at Malfoy's words. "My newly trimmed appearance distracted the poor girl."

Snapping her mouth shut, she threw a glare in his direction. Malfoy either didn't see it or didn't react for his full attention was on Snape.

"Fine Mr. Malfoy. But I expect Ms. Granger to keep her attention away from you and on my class while she is here."

Hermione buried her head in her hands while Snape walked away. She felt exasperated from Malfoy's comments but even more disoriented from that fact that Malfoy even listened to her. He was obviously smarter than he looked. Had she told Ron he looked like a girl, he would have just sweated more and cracked crude jokes. Malfoy recognized what she was talking about and went even further to make a change! She had to admit he did look better…

"You're staring Granger" Malfoy said with a small laugh. He didn't expect this much of a reaction from her. He thought she would just ignore him but it turns out she was falling directly in his trap. This would be even easier than expected. He would lead her to believe she could carve him with her suggestions, making him even more desirable to the rest of the female population.

He thought back to the previous night. When Draco returned to his newly pink room, he thought about the comment Granger made while safely locked in her room. He looked in the mirror and saw pointed features. She couldn't mean his bone structure was girly, and he couldn't fix that anyway without a lot of pain and potions. His muscles weren't obvious but without clothes, his arms, chest, abs, and just about everywhere was carved just the right amount. Last time he checked, girl's bodies didn't look like that. And he checked a lot of girls.

That left his hair. It had gotten pretty long. Strains fell in his eyes but he had always thought that flipping them out of his face was sexy and attracted the female's attention. Apparently not Granger. 'But when have I ever considered Granger a female? And when have I ever wanted to attract her attention?' he thought.

'Well,' he continued in his mind, 'since Granger is a girl, she'll know what attracts them. Her eyes can't be buried in a book ALL the time.

And with that, Malfoy made his decision. After Granger left that morning, he jumped out of bed and took his time with every inch of hair. He was proud of the way it turned out and he couldn't wait to show it off. Especially to a certain bushy haired Gryffindor.

"Even with the new hair, you're still a girl Malfoy," Hermione announced pulling him out of his thoughts.

Slightly defeated, Malfoy glared, never taking his eyes off the front board. "Don't call me that, Granger."

**Okay. It's not longer than the other chapters really. But it came to a nice close, don't you agree?**

**This story is very much being created as I write it. I hope you all are still enjoying it. I know I'm enjoying writing it. **

**If you have time, write a review. They are so encouraging **


	4. Too Close For Comfort

**Working all day stinks. Happy reading!**

Hermione cringed as she walked to her last class of the day. All day she had heard of how attractive Malfoy looked with his new hair. It hadn't been her intention to make him even more popular with just about everyone. The girls giggled and whispered behind their hands. Words like "dreamy" and "even better than before!" floated around the halls of Hogwarts.

It was interesting, however. No one knew it had been Hermione's influence that changed Malfoy for the better. She assumed if they did, no one would believe her anyway. She couldn't believe it herself.

"Hermioneeeee! Hermione! Hermione! Hermione! Hermione!" Ron came bounded down the hallway narrowly avoiding barreling into the Head Girl.

"Ron! Don't run! And what do you want?" Hermione screamed at him.

"Hermione, I'm sorry for the other day. I love your name! But everyone has a nickname! My name is shorted to Ron, Ginerva is Ginny, Harry is…"

"The boy who lived?" Hermione finished rolling her eyes. "He doesn't like that name as much as I don't like 'Mione'"

"Whatever. Do you forgive me?" Ron finished with a big smile.

Narrowing her eyes, she considered. She really didn't have the effort to fight with him anymore. "Oh all right, Ronald." She turned her back on him with a roll of her eyes. She hoped he would consider how she felt for once. He couldn't even listen to her when she told him the first hundred times that she hated that awful nickname. That was one of his worst traits. And Hermione just couldn't overlook it.

She finally arrived to Ancient Ruins. She loved this class because only ten people were in the class and everyone was serious about their grades. She liked being around the more thoughtful students of Hogwarts. Ones she could help and even learn from herself.

She settled down at the desk in the middle of the class and brought out her notes. Taking a deep breath, she could feel her good mood resurfacing. She began writing the words on the board with a small smile playing at her lips.

There was a loud thump next to her. She looked up to greet whoever had chosen to sit next to her. With the words on her lips she saw exactly who had sat down.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Hermione's face immediately dropped and she sighed looking back at her notes. She already had one Slytherin bothering her endlessly. She wished she could just escape everyone; but there was a snake living next to her and others in each of her classes.

"My favorite Gryffindor"

"You hate Gryffindors, Zabini, so that is not much of a compliment."

Blaise smiled lightly but Hermione could still detect an underlying mocking tone. "You know Granger, you made my best mate even more pompous than he already is. I don't appreciate the extra gloating I am forced to listen to."

She rolled her eyes and replied unwillingly. "Why don't you just ditch the prat and focus on your studies?"

Blaise laughed heartily. "Someone has to be willing to comfort all of the girls that don't get their wish to sleep with the Slytherin Prince."

"Oh? So you're second price? You only get leftovers?" Hermione said snidely, hoping to get a rise out of him.

To her dismay, he only laughed again. "Oh little Gryffindor, I only get the leftovers when I'm too lazy to woo them myself" He ended his statement with a saucy wink.

Hermione refused to respond and instead spent the rest of the class aggravated. Blaise hadn't made any real jabs at her which only frustrated her more. She didn't want to have to analyze new behaviors from the Slytherins. She just wanted to continue on hating them and not caring what they did. But she knew she couldn't do that. And she knew the reason, but just wouldn't admit it.

The fact of the matter was, she felt a little bit of a claim on Malfoy. It was her doing that made him so attractive. Girls like Pansy Parkinson wouldn't have a new gossip topic and Malfoy wouldn't have all this attention. She didn't feel it was right to have girls fawning over him.

Hermione lightly put her head on her desk and tried to forget her juvenile thoughts. She failed to see Blaise's laughter filled smile looking down on her.

Hermione found herself settling into her common room in front of the fire. She had already changed out of her school robes and into muggle attire consisting of her favorite jeans and a soft off white sweater. She gathered her textbooks in order to get a jump start on homework. From there, she curiously wandered into her roommate's room and saw that her pretty pink spell was wearing off. It was not completely removed however, which left the room as a mishmash of rose and emerald coloring throughout.

She was currently lying with her back against the plush cushions of the sofa and she felt her muscles relax. She couldn't quite release the tension she felt in the base of her neck though. Her mind buzzed with the information she learned from her classes, the Quidditch game in a few days, her homework load, and the rest of her life. She groaned from the pressure already weighing her down.

Suddenly, she felt pressure on her shoulders. Large hands applied just the right of force in order to turn Hermione to goo. She felt thumbs kneading in just the right spot. All her worries seemed to melt away and her troubles disappeared. She allowed her eyes to slip close. All she focused on was those rustic hands, caressing her very soul into a cloudy bliss. Just as she was slipping into her pleasure she heard a distant whisper…

"_Relax" _

Of course, it was at that moment that Hermione felt herself tense up again. There was only one other person who could get into this room. And that was the last person she wanted to be making her feel completely free.

Jumping up, she flew away from the magic fingers of her enemy-but no, he wasn't really her enemy anymore. Just someone she didn't want to be close to. She remained facing away from the boy behind her.

"Granger, what's wrong?"

"You are not allowed to touch me, Malfoy."

"You seemed to be enjoying it just a second ago. Why don't you just calm down for once? I wasn't hurting you."

"But you _are_ hurting me Malfoy; by not acting normally. Just go back to ignoring me and scowling at me!"

Draco dared to move closer to the already wild Gryffindor. "What if I don't want to go back to being that guy?"

Hermione gave him an incredulous look. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't want to be hearing it, in fact. So, at that point, she turned and fled to her room, leaving her school books behind on the coffee table. She finalized her escape with a loud slam of her door.

Malfoy was left alone in the common room with a confused look. All he did was massage her shoulders. They were nice shoulders, he had to admit. Her creamy skin was just as soft as it looked and her slender neck was just waiting to have kisses trailed down it. He wasn't even able to really loosen her up before she pulled away. He couldn't understand why he was feeling upset that she left him. It was probably because he expected more from her. She was supposed to be a bloody Gryffindor. Where was her bravery?

Then he got an idea. He allowed his face to break out into a smile. He scares her. The Gryffindor Princess was scared of a Slytherin snake. He realized he could use this to his advantage. It was amazing fun to see her squirm when he moved toward her. And that's when he began to plan.

**I'm so sorry this took much longer than the others. This chapter was really hard for me to write. **

**If any of you have suggestions of what you would like to see in the future of this story, please let me know. I would love suggestions and they would help me write faster. **


	5. I'm Falling For Something

**I wrote this chapter during work ****(I actually had to write it twice because I thought I had copied it so I closed the file without saving. Turns out it wasn't copied. Oh geez.) **

**It literally spilled out of me though; it was so easy to write. I now have an idea of where I want this story to go. Also, this chapter is much longer than my others! Yay! **

**Happy Reading! **

Hermione woke up the next morning with a raging headache. Her brain felt like it was pulsing violently inside her skull so much that she resisted opening her eyes. When she finally knew she had to get up for class, she slowly sat up and carefully set her feet on the ground. Bracing herself against her bed, Hermione blinked open her eyes and immediately shut them again. The light from her window increased her pounding headache.

"I need to get up or I'm going to be late. Come on Hermione, grit your teeth and bear it."

Hermione managed to navigate her way to the bathroom using minimal eyesight and when she got there she immediately dimmed the candle light with her wand. Standing in almost darkness, Hermione was able to open her eyes fully. The pounding was still there but it was bearable.

Hermione turned on the shower and went to grab her products from the sink. She had her shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel in her hands when she realized the bottles were sticky and wet. She must not have cleaned them up properly after her last shower. The shampoo started to slip from her hands and just when it was about to fall she spun and tried to grab it from the air. Hermione realized her mistake of moving too quickly, too late. Her eyes danced with black spots and she could feel her migraine taking over he senses. Hermione slipped to her knees and the darkness swallowed her.

Draco was not, by any means, a morning person. He enjoyed lying in bed for as long as possible before he was forced to get ready for the day. Although he liked his look to be perfected each time he walked out of his dorm, he found it didn't take all that long for him to look his best, especially with his shorter hair. He barely had to do anything with it once he got out from his shower. A simple drying spell was all it took for it to look perfectly tousled.

So, with this information known, Draco was more than happy to let Hermione shower first. She usually got up extremely early anyway. This morning however, was different. He did not hear the shower turn on until much later than normal and then he simply never heard it turn off. Trying not to care, Draco rolled over and continued his dozing.

15 more minutes passed and Hermione was still in the bathroom. Draco knew he needed to kick her out soon or he wouldn't have enough time for a shower. And that would not happen!

He sat up and walked to the door joining to the bathroom. He opened it slightly in case Hermione was out of the shower but not decent yet. He didn't want to deal with an enraged and embarrassed Head Girl this early in the morning. He found however, when he opened the door, that little light was coming through. Opening it a little wider, he tried to find the girl within the darkness.

"Granger. You've been in here forever. It's time to get out so I can use the shower."

There was no response to his statement. All that was heard was the constant running water from the shower. There was no unevenness to the sound made when hitting the floor which Draco knew meant Hermione wasn't physically in the shower.

He stepped fully in the bathroom now, not really caring if he saw Hermione in all her glory. Despite the tempting thought of a woman naked, Draco couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. He edged into the dark room and called once again for his roommate.

"Grang-"

And that was when he saw her. Lying face forward on the stone floor, bottles strewn around her. Her hair was splayed around her head in a mass of frizz. She was still in her shorts and tank top, thank goodness, but Draco didn't think twice about what she was wearing.

He didn't hesitate to bend down and lift the lifeless girl into his arms. She didn't look injured in any way but she wasn't waking up either. He half-ran out of the bathroom and out of their dorm. Draco could feel the panic starting to rise but he willed himself to remain calm.

He arrived to the Hospital Wing with little resistance; just a few younger kids looking at him funny in the hallway.

"Madame Pomfrey!"

The witch walked to the front of her wing slowly, grumbling about yelling indoors.

"Mr. Malfoy is it really necessary-oh my! What did you do?" She finished with a strong glare in the direction of the Head Boy.

"I didn't do anything! I found her like this on our bathroom floor."

"Alright Mr. Malfoy. I will alert the Headmaster and he will know what to do with you. Put her down on any bed but stay here.

Draco placed her on the nearest bed and immediately conjured a chair next to it for him. He was slightly annoyed that the old witch was jumping to conclusions. Even without Madame Pomfrey's suspicions of his part in the situation however, he would have stayed by her side until she woke up.

The medi-witch came forward with a large supply of potions which she fed to the frail girl immediately.

"Dumbledore will be here soon. As long as your just sitting there, alert me if she makes any movement."

With that, she walked swiftly away and left the Heads to themselves. Time ticked by slowly as Draco watched for any signs that she may be awake. He was concentrating so hard, he failed to notice the entrance of the wise Headmaster.

"Mr. Malfoy"

Draco shot up instantly and stood directly in front of Hermione's bed. "Sir," he said curtly.

"Young Ms. Granger had quite the morning, didn't she? I don't suppose you could tell me what happened, could you?"

"I heard her go into the bathroom and turn the shower on but after a long while, she still hadn't turned it off. It was getting late so I went into the bathroom to find her and that's when I found her lying face down on our bathroom floor."

"And do you always walk into the bathroom while Mr. Granger is showering?" Dumbledore asked with his nose pointed down at the boy.

"What? No! I was worri- I needed time to take a shower myself before classes started and she still wasn't out yet. I yelled into the room first to tell her to get out but there was no response. I didn't want to be late" Draco was breathing heavily now while being looked over by the Headmaster.

"And yet here you stand without a care that your first class has almost ended. You must not have been _that_ concerned for being on time."

"Look," Draco started, running his hand through his hair. "If I attacked her, I wouldn't have brought her to the Hospital Wing!"

"Oh, young Mr. Malfoy!" Dumbledore said with a laugh. "I don't think you attacked her! I was merely making an observation! Ms. Granger looks like she will recover and be perfectly fine by tomorrow. I suggest you go tell her friends that she is alright. Good day."

Draco stared at the retreating form of Professor Dumbledore. He thought about his last statement. Was he really concerned with getting to class on time? Not really. He was almost always late. So why did he want to make sure Hermione was in the shower like normal? He couldn't be concerned for the girl. He had plans for her! That would completely ruin everything.

Definitely not going to discuss this with Potter and Weasley, Draco opted for staying in the Hospital Wing with Hermione. He would get his homework from Blaise later. Sitting back down, Draco was left to his thoughts which consisted of a brunette and a fearful, aching heart.

Hermione allowed herself to feel again. She was having trouble fully waking up and often fell in and out of consciousness. She willed herself to actually open her eyes this time and survey her surroundings.

Blinking slowly, Hermione took in the white walls and soft bed she was lying on. She saw about twenty other identical cots set up all around the room. Next to her bed was a small table with a glass of water, of which she greedily gulped down. On the other side of her bed was a boy-

He was slumped over with his head resting on the side of the mattress and his hand resting on top on Hermione's leg. Her eyes widened slightly when she caught sight of the somewhat spiky platinum blond hair. She tried not to move in order to not wake him up. His face was completely neutral given his sleeping state, something she had never witnessed before. Hesitantly, Hermione lifted her hand and gently brushed her finger through his soft locks.

Draco stirred slightly and opened his eyes. He looked up and found Hermione looking down at him. Memories of this morning came flooding back to him and before he could stop himself, he squeezed the hand that was holding Hermione's leg and frantically looked in her eyes for any sign of distress.

"Are you alright? Does anything hurt? Do you need the nurse? MADAME-"

"Malfoy, no! I'm fine! Don't call her yet!"

They both sat completely still, holding their breaths, waiting to see if Madame Pomfrey would walk in on them. When she never came, they exhaled quietly and looked back at each other.

They both sat silently for a while; simply looking at each other. Hermione's eyes were filled with confusion while Malfoy's were conflicted. He was battling the emotions inside himself. Hermione was obviously better than this morning but he couldn't force himself to leave her side.

"Malfoy, I remember everything that happened. I woke up this morning with a terrible headache. I get them sometimes when I don't get enough sleep. I should have stayed in bed and slept it off but I didn't. I wanted to get up and go to class. That obviously made it worse and, well, anyway…thank you for bringing me here and watching out for me," the frail girl finished with a smile.

Malfoy started to return her smile with his own when he heard a loud disturbance. The Boy Wonders rushed into the Hospital Wing and practically sprinted to Hermione's side. They showered her with questions and well wishes and almost demanded to know what had happened. During the commotion, Malfoy quietly slipped out before anyone could notice his presence.

Hermione tried to fend off her best friends in order to return her attention to Malfoy. She could have sworn he was about to smile at her when they were rudely interrupted. The boys would not be deterred, however, and Hermione was forced to retell her story and convince them that it was her fault and no one had caused her harm. Once they were finally persuaded enough to give the girl back her personal space, Hermione looked over them and found that Malfoy had left. She sighed and figured she would see him in their common room later that night.

"Hermione," Ron started, "you need to get your rest. If a simple headache is enough to make you pass out, you're more delicate than we thought."

He knew he said the wrong thing as soon as he finished his sentence. Hermione's eyes blazed.

She swiftly reached over and drew her wand, pointing it directly at her best friend. With a swish and flick, Ron was floating upside down as Hermione watched his face slowly turn red.

"If you ever refer to me as 'delicate' again, I will personally show you how fragile you get when you're faced with a nasty head injury, Ronald."

With that, Hermione not-so-gently released Ron onto his feet and told the boys to leave her alone. She gave Harry a secret smile when he turned around to look at her once more before leaving. He returned it with an encouraging one and rolled his eyes in the direction of Ron. Hermione giggled and scooted down under her covers. With her eyes gently shut, Hermione cringed as Ron's words floated around in her mind. She was not delicate. And it looked like she would have to make sure everyone knew it.

**I enjoy hearing from you all **


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